Summary
Former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a target of Aston Villa this summer according to a guest on Sky Sports.
The 29-year-old is available on a free transfer following the expiration of his Liverpool contract.
What position does Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play?
The England international can play a number of positions across both the attack and midfield, which makes him an attractive proposition for any potential buyers.
According to Transfermarkt, across the player's 393-game career, he has played as a striker, a left-winger, a right-winger, an attacking midfielder, a central midfielder, a defensive midfielder, a left midfielder, a right midfielder, and even as a right back. That versatility shows that he has a strong and flexible skillset both with and without the ball.
The 'Ox' is also a very experienced player, having made almost 400 career appearances before the age of 30, with over 200 appearances in the Premier League and over 50 in the Champions League. During his career, the midfielder has scored 48 goals and assisted 56 across all competitions, en route to winning everything there is to win at a club level in football, including a Champions League and a Premier League with the Merseyside club.
His career has been tarnished by injury problems however, with the Englishman having missed 170 career games through injury, with the most devastating one being a ruptured cruciate ligament injury he suffered in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in 2018 that left him sidelined for over 300 days and 43 matches. Following his return from that injury, the midfielder really struggled to nail down a starting spot in the Liverpool team for the next four years before ultimately departing this summer.
Jordan Henderson was full of praise for his former teammate in Liverpool's final matchday programme of last season, stating: "Ox is currently in the shape of his life and whoever gets him next has won the lottery. He's been fit and one of our standout players in training consistently for the past two seasons. Being honest, I'm buzzing for Ox but gutted he gets the chance to have a fresh start somewhere else. What I felt back on summer transfer deadline night in 2017 still applies now: the guy is dynamite. What a player."
According to reports, three Premier League sides are battling for the signature of the England international, with Villa joined by Brighton and Brentford in the race for his signature.
A guest on the Good Morning Transfers Sky Sports show revealed that the Englishman prefers to stay in England, and has already turned down lucrative offers from abroad: "We understand three Premier League clubs are interested in signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and we understand those clubs are Aston Villa, Brighton and Brentford, and it’s also understood that he’s had interest from the MLS, Turkey and of course Saudi Arabia.
So he left Liverpool at the end of last season, and we understand he has already turned down a few lucrative offers from teams abroad because his preferred option at this point is to stay in England."
Where will Oxlade-Chamberlain play for Aston Villa?
The signing of Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a fantastic utility signing by Unai Emery.
As stated earlier, the player's versatility is incredible, and he could be deployed in a number of positions and roles for the Villains next season either in midfield, on the wings and possibly even up front.
Villa have made a number of really strong additions this window, with the signings of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer and Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen for a club record transfer fee, and Oxlade-Chamberlain could come in and offer some real quality depth behind those two new signings, as well as to established members of the squad such as Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey. This quality depth will also be very important for the Midlands side next season as they embark on their first European campaign in over a decade in the Conference League, and the added stress of playing two games a week will mean that manager Emery will have to fall back on his depth options more often, and having a player with the experience and quality of the 'Ox' coming off the bench and into games when needed will be a massive help for the side.
